Cool Thing
by BBandDC11
Summary: You know, I really hadn’t gone in to it looking for love, but the cool thing is I found it.  I did.  I fell in love with Casey MacDonald.  The girl of my dreams.  The girl that I just let drive away, out of my life. Dasey! One shot!
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys. I know I should be updating Stay, but I had to get this out. "Cool Thing" is probably my favorite song of all-time and this just kept coming to mind every time I heard it. This is just a one shot so I really don't plan on continuing it. Just use your imagination after the end. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek, or "Cool Thing" by Rascal Flatts.

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_We were wrapped up in a blanket  
__Red wine buzz __kickin__' in  
__A little Sarasota moonlight  
__Driftwood fire __burnin__'_

I took her up to a cliff that overlooked the ocean, spread out a blanket, and set down our picnic basket. She was running to the edge to see the view, but I had the best view of all. There she was, the most beautiful girl I had ever met, standing with the ocean and sunset as her background. And tomorrow I had to tell her goodbye.

We sat down and enjoyed our picnic in silence. Neither of us knew what to say. It had been the best summer of my life, and I didn't want it to end.

We finished and wrapped ourselves up in the blanket. Still not a word had been said, but when that red wine buzz started kicking in, there were no need for words. She turned around in my arms, and we just stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. I never wanted to forget this moment, how her eyes sparkled in the moonlight. Slowly she brought her lips down to mine, and we began saying goodbye the only way we knew how.

We made love on the blanket under the moon. She was the first girl I had ever been with and I wanted her to be my last. Yes, I had fallen completely head over heels in love with a girl I would never see again. Tomorrow she would drive away and I would never see her again. But right now I have her asleep in my arms and I just want to enjoy the time I have left with her. As I lay here, I can't help but think back to the time I first laid eyes on her.

_She was on break from Ohio State  
__And__ I was down there __sellin__' parasail rides  
__Just another summer day  
__Till I strapped her in and watched her __fly_

She was on break from college up at Ohio State. I had been down visiting my grandmother who lived here and had gotten a job selling parasail rides. It was my third day on the job and that day had been just like the others until this group of girls came up.

I overheard the blonde girl as she was pushing the brunette towards where I was stationed, " Come on, you have to do this. You lost the bet last night and this was what we agreed on. Parasailing is fun so don't think of it as a punishment. Look I'm sure the nice guy right here will make sure you come back to us in one piece."

The girl they were pushing toward me still had her back turned to me but I could still hear what she was saying, "Kendra, please. You know I'm scared of heights."

Great. I hate getting the ones that always chicken out. These girls looked my age so I decided to turn on my charm to maybe ease the girl's fear.

"Hi ladies. I'm Derek. Do we have--"

The brunette spun around to face me and all words flew out of my head. She was gorgeous. Beautiful. Stunning. Words could hardly describe her. She had piercing blue eyes that seemed to look straight into the depths of me. All I could do was stare at her dumbfounded. She could tell I was staring and it made her blush.

The Kendra girl turned her around and asked her, "Ok we're gonna go. Good luck!"

The blue-eyed beauty turned back to me with a shy smile and stuck out her hand, "Hi, I'm Casey. It's nice to meet you."

I was finally able to speak again. Thank goodness because I was not gonna let this one get away. She was definitely a keeper. So I took her hand and brought it to my lips and gave it a light kiss, which made her blush once again. "Believe me, the pleasure's all mine."

I grabbed the gear and told her to follow as we made our way to the boat.

"So Casey, what brings you here to Florida?"

"I'm here with a few friends from college. We're on break."

"Where do you go to school?"

"Ohio State. How about you?"

"I'm actually visiting my grandmother for the summer. I live in Canada and go to the University of Toronto." I flashed her a smile and she turned away shyly with a smile on her face. I took the time to check out the amazing body she had. Even with the white t-shirt over her swimsuit, I could tell it was to die for. This girl was as close to perfect as it gets.

"You know…Columbus is not incredibly far from Toronto. Small world," she giggled. I could tell she was starting to flirt back.

"Yeah, so I take it that you've never parasailed before?" Her face fell and the fear came back.

She let out a nervous laugh, "Yeah, well I'm not too fond of heights."

We finally made it far enough out at sea and I killed the engine. I walked to the back of the boat and motioned for her to follow me.

I sat her down and held onto her hand because I could tell she really was scared. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you. Now let me show you what to do."

I took her through the steps, but I could tell she was still bad nervous.

"Casey, listen. You'll get up there and you'll end up having a great time. It is so much fun. I promise I won't let you get hurt. Okay?"

She had her head down trying to hide the tears that were coming out now. Usually I don't handle girls that cry, but I made an exception for her.

I lifted her chin to where she was looking me in the eyes, "Hey, you'll be fine okay? I promise you're gonna love it. If not, dinner's on me tonight." This got a smile and a small laugh out of her.

"Oh really, well I gotta tell you, I'm probably not gonna like it," she said with a smirk. She wasn't even thinking about her fear of heights now. She was focused on flirting with me.

"Well in that case, dinner's on me whether you like it or not. What do you say to that?" I smirked back.

"What makes you think I want to have dinner with you?" She continued on with our little banter.

"Come on, who wouldn't want to go out with this?" I asked jokingly as I motioned to my body.

That got a big laugh out of her, "Oh yeah, well, how can I turn that down?"

"Exactly. So let's get you up there and if you get scared just think about the wonderful time we're gonna have tonight when I take you to a nice dinner then back to my place for a movie."

"Wow, even a movie? And don't you mean your grandmother's? How romantic."

"Yeah, yeah. You'll find that my grandmother's very good company. And she loves George Clooney, so we'll probably be watching Ocean's Thirteen if you don't mind."

"Well you seem to have this all planned out don't you?"

"Yep, and it all starts with you getting in that water. So come on." I helped her down into the water, but once she was in she wouldn't let go of my hands. She looked up at me with sad eyes, so I reassured her one last time.

"Hey, it'll be okay. I wouldn't let anything happen to my beautiful date for tonight." I gave her a comforting smile, which she returned and let go of my hands.

_Talk about a sunset  
__All I could see were purples and reds  
__And__ her silhouette __wavin__' goodbye  
__She didn't come there __lookin__' for love  
__And the cool thing was  
__Neither did I and neither did I_

In no time she was flying high against the sunset sky. She waved at me and I knew she was loving it. I could even hear her laughter over the roar over the engine. As I continued to race the boat across the water, I wondered what all this was gonna mean. Was I looking for just a good time with this girl, or did I think it could actually become serious? Even if it was to be just a summer fling, I was prepared to enjoy it.

_She dipped down in the water  
__As__ I slowed down __holdin__' that line  
__Wet T-shirt on a two piece  
__We ditched that boat and hung outside_

I slowed the boat and gently lowered her back into the water. I grabbed the line and started pulling her back to the boat. She had a huge smile on her face, and I helped her back up into the boat.

Whoa. I was right. She did have an amazing body. I could see everything as her, now wet, white t-shirt clung to her body also showing off the small two-piece she had on.

"You were right. That was so much fun. I could see everything up there. It was amazing. I can't wait to do it again," she rambled on breaking me out of my reverie.

"Stick with me, and I think I might be able to manage a few more rides free of charge," I told her giving her a wink.

With all of the shyness completely gone now, she leaned in close to me and asked, "So, what do you suggest we do now?"

"Well, I think I'm gonna close up shop for the day. So what do you say to a nice walk on the beach?" I asked leaning in even closer to her to where our foreheads were resting on one another's.

"Sounds like a plan," she replied as she pulled away and walked back to the front of the boat.

I chuckled to myself and gathered everything back into the boat and joined her up front. We sat in a comfortable silence as we made our way back to land.

_And we walked ankle deep in ocean  
__You know that place where footprints disappear  
__Just like that __evenin__' she drove away  
__It'll be burned in my mind for a million years_

After I finished up with everything, I found her sitting patiently staring off into the horizon as she waited on me.

"Hey, you ready?" I asked, offering a hand to help her up.

She nodded and took my hand, which she never let go of.

We walked hand in hand down the beach, where the waves washed up, hitting us at our ankles.

"You know," she said, "here we are, walking hand in hand on the beach plus I have a date with you tonight, and I don't even know your last name."

I laughed, "Well, if it makes you feel better, it's Venturi. I'm Derek Venturi."

"I'm glad I met you Derek Venturi. I'm Casey MacDonald."

"Same here, Casey MacDonald."

We stopped walking and I turned her to where she was facing me. We gazed into each other's eyes as we slowly made our way closer to each other. Before long I couldn't take it anymore and I pulled her the rest of the way to me, leaning down and capturing her lips in mine. It was a slow, gentle kiss, unlike any I had ever had. It was tender and brief. I pulled away and didn't try to hide the humongous smile on my face. Her smile matched mine, and I brought my hand to her face and brushed my thumb across her cheek, "How about we get out of here? I've got a date I've got to get ready for."

_Talk about a sunset  
__All I could see were purples and reds  
__And__ her silhouette __wavin__' goodbye  
__She didn't come there __lookin__' for love  
__And the cool thing was  
__Neither did I and neither did I_

That was the beginning, about two months ago. Here I am now, watching as she waves goodbye. All I can see now is her silhouette against the sunset. It's an image I'll never be able to forget. Once she drove away, I broke down. I hardly ever cry, but I couldn't help but feel like I had just let _the one_ get away.

You know, I really hadn't gone in to it looking for love, but the cool thing is I found it. I did. I fell in love with Casey MacDonald. The girl of my dreams. The girl that I just let drive away, out of my life.

_Talk about a sunset  
__All I could see were purples and reds  
__And__ her silhouette __wavin__' goodbye  
__She didn't come there __lookin__' for love  
__And the cool thing was  
__Neither did I and neither did I_

I eventually sucked it up and climbed in my car that I had rented for the summer, ready to head back home. I picked up my phone and called my dad to let him know I was on my way.

"Hello?"

"Hey Dad. I'm on my way to the airport. So I'll be home sometime tomorrow."

"Okay son. We all miss you. A lot has happened since you've been gone. And I actually have some news."

"What? Did Marti finally stop wearing purple?"

Dad let out a nervous laugh, "Ah, not exactly. You see, I kinda met someone and well…we're getting married!"

"You're what?!" I almost ran off the road. Was he crazy? He met someone and decided to get married all within about three months.

"You'll love her son. Her name's Nora and I met her when I went down to the States for one of my meetings. She also has two daughters but I've only met one of them. She's around Edwin's age. But she said her other daughter that's your age will be coming up soon for us to meet. Oh, I can't wait for you to meet her. I really do love her, Derek. She's absolutely perfect."

"Yeah, whatever. I'll talk to you after I land."

I hung up. I couldn't listen anymore to my dad as he told me how he was getting married to the woman he loved when I had just let the woman I love walk away, never to see her again.

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A/N: Like? Review! 


	2. AN

Hey everyone!

After I'm through with Stay (which we all know could be awhile), the next thing on my list is a multi-chapter sequel to Cool Thing.

What do you guys think? Let me know!


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